Faires and Fools
by Devon Shea
Summary: Gwen and Merlin go to a RenFaire and meet a few charming knights.


"Merlin, come on. Hurry up."

Merlin grinned at his best friend as she pulled his arm, with him still attached to it, towards the little shop with the gleaming crystals hanging in the window. "Gwen, we have all day. Hell, we're coming back tomorrow. We don't have to see everything in the first five minutes."

He could see the excitement in her brown eyes as she grinned back. "I know, but I really want to see this shop."

"If we must." Merlin faked a huge sigh, acting as put upon as he could for the briefest moment before his grin returned. "But we get to look at that dragon shop next to it, then."

A while later, both friends were gazing happily at their purchases as they walked out of the shops: a glass suncatcher with an orange flame encased in clear glass for Gwen, and a small, white, puppet dragon* that perched on Merlin's shoulder and could be controlled by a wire he had snaked under the tunic Gwen made him for their visit to the RenFaire. "Gwen, do you want to put the suncatcher in my pack? I don't want it damaged." Merlin played with the little knob controlling Aithusa's head as he walked and talked to her.

Gwen reached up and stroked her fingers over the fur of the puppet, smiling. "Maybe I should have gotten one of these."

"A suncatcher suits you and your ridiculously sunny personality, Gwen. But we can still go back and get you one."

"Maybe if I still want one tomorrow we can go back there. Let's figure out what we want to do next." Gwen looped her arm around his and hugged him. The two walked to the next intersection in the streets, sitting down at the bench situated there while Merlin tugged his pack off so he could pull out the map and program. While he opened it up, Gwen wrapped her suncatcher up and put it in the pack between the two ponchos they had packed just in case the weather decided to be uncooperative and start raining all over their lovely costumes.

"Let's see. I can smell the food from here."

"Merlin, we had a huge breakfast before we came here and we've only been here for an hour."

"But Gwen-"

"For god's sake, Merlin, give it another hour, at least." She took the map from him while he faked a pout, ignoring him. "Oh, that band you wanted to listen to is starting their first show in a few minutes. They're on the New Albion Stage." She looked around to get her bearings and pointed toward the street they'd need to follow to get there. "We go thatta way."

Merlin nodded, pout gone, and picked up the pack he'd closed. "Keep the map out. As much fun as it would be to wander, I don't really want to get lost and miss everything."

"Besides, after the show, we have to visit the blacksmith shop and see Elyan." Gwen snorted. "And find you some food."

Merlin grinned. "Bet you I can finish my turkey leg faster than you."

Gwen shook her head. "Merlin, that's not even a bet. You'll inhale the darn thing before I can even get mine started, you bottomless pit, you." She grinned at her friend. "Must be the hollow head to go with the hollow limbs."

The Celtic Rock band was outstanding. Merlin was still buzzing from the excitement and humming Drunken Sailor as he and Gwen made their way to the smithy that was set up for demonstrations. Gwen just laughed as she pointed out the turn they had to make to see her brother. This was his second year working the Faire and he'd gotten the two of them tickets and a hotel room as Gwen's birthday present after she mentioned wanting to go. "You're going to play that CD over and over, aren't you?"

Merlin grinned as he made Aithusa nod for him. "Yep. You're going to have it memorized with me."

"Why can't we ever listen to my music?"

"Gwen, you listen to the worst boy band pop shit I can think of and probably more I actively try to tune out." Merlin put his arm over Gwen's shoulder as they avoided a family with a stroller and what looked to be a moody teenager. "I listen to good music."

"Hah! Merlin, you listen to the BeeGees."

He shrugged, "Okay, so I have one or two that may not be the greatest bands of all time. But your taste is worse."

"Mm-hmm. If you say so. Just don't play it so loud that Mrs. Ramirez sends her son over again, please. Last time you blasted AC/DC I think he had a baseball bat behind his back when he pounded on the door. I can only imagine her reaction to you blaring bagpipe and fiddles."

Merlin side-hugged her. "I think I should take up an instrument, actually. What do you think? Drums?"

The two had reached their goal, so hearing Elyan speak up as he watched them bemusedly wasn't too much of a surprise. "I think Mrs. Ramirez won't have to kill you. Gwennie here will do it. I might help her hide the body."

"Traitor."

Elyan just laughed as Gwen left Merlin's side and reached over the counter to hug her brother. "How is supporting my sister being a traitor? You two having fun?"

Gwen nodded happily. "This is the best birthday present ever, Elyan. I absolutely needed the vacation."

"Thanks for including me in it, too, Elyan. You didn't have to." Merlin gave the larger man a quick hug himself.

"Oh, please, as if she wouldn't have dragged you along. It was just as easy to get two tickets." Elyan pointed with his chin toward the dragon on Merlin's shoulder. "I see you've already found a new pet."

"This is Aithusa." Elyan just chuckled at Merlin. "So when is your next demonstration?"

Gwen pointed out the sign on the side of the building. "It's in fifteen minutes, Merlin. We got here in time to get a good seat to watch."

"Cool. What are you going to make, Elyan?"

"A spoon."

Merlin and Gwen looked at each other with raised eyebrows. They were expecting something a little cooler than that. "A spoon, Elyan? Seriously? Not a dagger or something more interesting?"

Elyan grinned at the disappointed duo, "Well, I could always make a nail. It's at least pointy, Merlin." When their shoulders drooped a bit, he took pity on them. "It would take too long to make a knife, guys. I only have a fifteen minute window for the demonstration. Spoons, nails, or little wrought iron decorations are all I have time for."

Gwen nodded. She may have taken after her mother and focused on the needlecrafting side of the family, but she vaguely remembered hearing Elyan and their late father talking about things like this. "That sword you made for someone who works here, that took you a while, didn't it?"

"Yeah. Three weeks from start to finish. It ended up a sweet blade, though, so it was definitely worth it."

"Oh, is that how you got into this, Elyan? Gwen never did tell me."

Elyan grinned as he stoked the fire and prepped his work area for the demonstration. "Yeah. Percival wanted a really good blade, even though they don't use them in the shows." He looked up at the two watching him. "Wouldn't be good if he actually managed to hack off a limb during one of the scenarios."

"Well, that depends."

Elyan simply cocked his eyebrow at his lanky friend. "And what does that depend on?"

"If the Black Knight likes Monty Python, of course."

The demonstration went well. The spoon turned out lovely (for a spoon) and the audience that had gathered was suitably impressed and amused by the jokes Elyan interspersed through the lesson. By the time it was done, lunchtime had crept upon them and Merlin turned to Gwen, ready to whine that he was hungry, even with the granola bar Elyan had thrown at him before the demonstration. Gwen held up her hand and stopped him before he could start. "I know, Merlin, you're hungry. Elyan has a break, so why don't the three of us go get something?"

"Turkey leg?" The siblings laughed at the eager expression on Merlin's face.

"Come on, beanpole. Let's get you something to fill one of your legs." Elyan left the forge in the hands of his partner and their apprentice while the three of them set out for some sustenance, talking about the different things the two friends could do while they were at the Faire. Elyan's last demonstration was at 6 pm so they planned to meet him after that to enjoy some of the less family-friendly offerings. Until then they were on their own.

After enjoying lunch with Gwen's brother, they said goodbye as they realized it was close to time for one of the scenario shows. They went back to the New Albion stage and watched as the actors planned a way to trick the king into letting the prince off the hook for marrying his new ward and letting the knight who was currently proclaiming his love for said ward be the one to marry her. Gwen and Merlin laughed as the brunet knight they called Gwaine courted the fair Elena with some not-quite risque lyrics before claiming her in a swoon-worthy kiss.

There would be another hour before a scenario show was on, so the two decided to wander for a bit before reaching the outdoor chess board. As they passed the small torture museum, they laughed at the stocks and pillory in front of the tiny building. "Come on, Merlin. Let's try them out. They look like fun."

"You're insane, Gwen." Merlin grinned as he pointed at the wooden fixtures. "In what way do these look fun?"

"Spoilsport." She twined her arm through his. I want a picture of us together."

"In the stocks?"

"It'll look fun on the apartment wall."

Merlin shook his head. Gwen had that stupid puppy dog look down perfectly, her big, brown eyes irresistable when she pleaded for something. "Alright, get in there."

"You have to be in it, too."

Merlin looked around as she walked over to the pillory. "I just need someone to take the picture." He saw one of the performers walking by. "Ah, Sir Knight, kindly do us the favor of taking our picture?"

The dark-haired knight grinned and held his hand out for Merlin's phone. "But, of course, good sir, and fair madam. You will have to show me how to use this wondrous tool, though. Is it from the Eastern lands? Perhaps a new curiosity from the Orient?"

Merlin grinned back as he unlocked the phone and handed it to the knight, "Not a new thing from the mysterious East, simply a magic tool of my own devising."

"Ah, then you are a wizard, indeed, sir." The knight looked up from the phone he held as Merlin got in position next to a giggling Gwen in the pillory. "Ready?" As he added that, he finally got a good look at Gwen and did a double-take. "Um."

Merlin glanced over at a suddenly silent Gwen and saw the same look on her face that was on the knight's. "Hmm. See something you both like?"

Gwen's cheeks turned red at the same time the knight's did before she turned a tremulous smile on the dumbstruck knight. "Maybe you should take our picture, Sir Knight, so we can introduce ourselves in a more dignified manner."

The knight grinned and snapped a few photos with Merlin's phone before he approached the pillory. "Let me help you out, my lady."

He left Merlin struggling as he led Gwen off the low platform. "Nice, just leave me here." He saw them turn back and start chuckling at his struggles. "Jerks, both of you."

A voice spoke up behind him, "That's no way to speak of a valiant knight and his fair lady."

Merlin froze, mid-wriggle, and Gwen and the knight laughed harder. He finally managed to lift the wooden bar holding himself in place and turned to see the smirk on the face of yet another performer, this one the blond-haired, blue-eyed handsome Crown Prince. "Uh," he answered intelligently.

"My dearest lady, has this person been bothering you?"

Gwen grinned, "Only since we could both walk and talk." Her arm remained threaded with the knight's and it looked as if neither had any intention of changing that any time soon.

"Ah, then the varlet requires a lesson. I'm of half a mind to teach you myself." The prince was grinning to match Gwen and the knight.

Merlin caught his wits finally and quipped, "Well, half a mind is right, anyway."

The knight with Gwen made a suspicious choking sound and Merlin could see him covering his mouth with his free hand. "Are you feeling alright, Sir Lancelot?"

"Of course, Sire. Just a tickle in my throat. Do be careful of this man. He is a wizard."

"Ah, mayhap that explains why he responds to his Prince in such a disrespectful manner." The blond dramatically fingered the sword peacebound at his side. "Regrettably, we do not have the time to properly teach him. We must attend my father and the Lady Elena. Come, Lancelot, we shall leave the fair lady and her unfortunate friend to their devices." He grinned and winked at Lancelot and Gwen, breaking character for a moment. "Just make sure her wizard tells you how to contact her magical device first, because I'm sure a true friend would have made sure he could contact her when needed."

After Gwen quietly murmured her phone number to the knight, the two friends watched them head off toward the chess board, both sets of eyes firmly glued to the backsides of the two men walking away. "Now that is a lovely view," Gwen muttered.

"Mm-hmm."

Gwen turned toward him and swatted his arm. "Merlin! Don't ogle my future husband."

He grinned as he rubbed his arm. "I wasn't. I was ogling the Royal Ass." Gwen giggled as Merlin pulled up the phone. "Let me send you the pictures of us." He scrolled to his photo gallery and pulled them up, choking a bit as he looked at the last one Lancelot had taken. In the background, Arthur was obviously checking out one of their own rear ends as appreciatively as Merlin had just been staring after his.

"What is it?"

"Look." Merlin showed her the picture.

"Well, I think maybe you might have a chance. His eyes are definitely not glued to my tush. They're aimed in your direction."

"Do you think?"

Gwen patted his arm as he asked that a tad wistfully. "You're so adorable when you're crushing on someone."

The two decided to watch all of the other scenario shows. Neither one even denied to the other that they wanted to go just to stare at the pretty men they'd just encountered. The next show was being put on at the giant chessboard. By beating his team at a chess match, Princess Morgana managed to convince her father to hold a tournament where the winner would earn the right to court and win the hand of the Lady Elena. By this time, those paying attention to the scenario realized that this was the way Sir Gwaine's friends were going to make sure he won the hand of the king's newest ward, but the king was still in the dark. Of course, just before the show at the chessboard ended, the villain of the story was introduced. Sir Valiant was left on the stage with Sir Mordred as they made plans to ensure Valiant's victory while the Captain of the Guard eavesdropped on their conversation.

Gwen and Merlin figured it was time to go to the Saucy Wenches show and settled in for a laugh when they were surprised by the two knights they were pseudo-stalking sitting down next to them. The Wenches were a bit surprised, too, but ran with it, improvising jokes that the "Prince" and his "Most Noble Knight" threw back at them. Merlin chuckled when he saw Lancelot's hand settle over Gwen's on the bench. He lost his breath the moment after as Gwen's elbow made solid contact with his ribs. He kept losing it when he realized the Prince kept crowding his leg with his own on purpose.

The show was hilarious and ended much too soon for Merlin. He hummed one of the songs as he waited for the rest of the audience to leave the stage. Gwen was whispering back and forth with Lancelot and looked like she had no intention of stopping anytime soon. He had no idea what to say to the Prince. He was terrible at flirting and most of it tended to go straight over his head when aimed at him. As they were waiting, the Prince leaned over and muttered, "So when do you think the wedding will be?"

Merlin grinned, "Next month? Gwen can sew her own dress, and my mum is a whiz at throwing together a party with no warning."

The Prince chuckled. "Arthur."

"Hmm?"

"My name, you idiot." The slight smile on the man's face made the insult sound like an endearment.

"I thought that was just a stage name." He paused for a moment. "Oh, I'm Merlin, by the way."

The sun started shining and birds started singing as Merlin watched a full smile bloom across Arthur's face. "Merlin. I like it. How are you at falconry?"

Merlin laughed. "I'm not. They were my father's favorite birds."

They were interrupted by the approach of one of the other actors, "Ah, there you are, sire. You are needed most urgently by your father."

Arthur sighed and he muttered just loud enough for Merlin to hear, "Break's over." Louder and once a haughty look had shuttered his face, he answered the knight who had found them, "Of course, Sir Leon. Lancelot, leave off your flirtation with yonder wench there. We must away." He bowed his head to Merlin, eyes twinkling as he spoke, "Until another time, wizard."

"Your highness." Merlin grinned as he watched the three extremely handsome knights walk away. "Do they require these actors to be gorgeous before they get the job?"

"Dunno, but I'm not complaining." Gwen leaned into Merlin's shoulder. "He's the one, Merlin."

"I kinda figured that out."

"I mean it." Gwen's face was beaming as she looked up at her best friend. "His name really is Lance, by the way."

"The prince is really named Arthur. I think they just kept their real names for the show." Merlin thought for a moment. "Maybe not that Valiant fellow, though. Merlin's bad enough, even if I do like it. Can you imagine being named Valiant all of your life? What if you were a bloody coward?"

"Then you'd be named 'Fang'."

Merlin kissed Gwen's forehead. "Do you know how much I love you? Arthur better be a damned Potterhead or we're just not going to be able to date."

They went to the last show before the joust and watched as the Black Knight was introduced as the way Sir Valiant was going to win the hand of Lady Elena. The Black Knight would beat everyone else and then he'd throw the joust so Sir Valiant would beat him. It was a clever plan, especially when one saw the size of the Black Knight. Merlin could see him being able to beat everyone.

"So, how are they going to pull this off? I want a happy ending. I want to see Sir Gwaine win the lady."

"You always want a happy ending, Gwen."

Merlin danced out of range of Gwen's hand as it flew through the air at his arm. "So do you. I know you actually love my sappy Christmas movies."

"No, I just love looking at the actors." He grinned. "I'm still waiting for the one where the handsome prince gets together with the gay best friend, though."

Gwen laughed. "Maybe that's your story?"

They met up with Elyan after his last demonstration and made their way to the jousting field. Neither friend mentioned the fact that they'd been engaged in a running flirtation with two of the cast members all day. Gwen didn't want to hear Elyan pull the older brother overprotective crap, and Merlin didn't want to be on the receiving end of it, either. Especially since Elyan would probably yell at him for not nipping it in the bud.

When they got there, Gwen wanted to sit as close as possible to the field. Elyan had seen the jousts before and was more interested in their reactions to it. He explained to them how it would work since neither had ever seen one. There would be four mace matches, then the winners of those would use swords until only two were left. The winner of the final joust would win the purse and be allowed to court Lady Elena.

As the knights paraded, Elyan noticed a thin ribbon that Lancelot had tied around his arm. "That's odd. I didn't think any of the knights were being bestowed favors in this year's show." He missed both the grin Merlin sent Gwen's way, and the fact that her hair used to be tied up with a ribbon that color and was now bound up with just an elastic band.

The show went as planned. Lancelot lost to Arthur, and Sir Leon lost to Sir Gwaine. Sir Kay lost to the Black Knight, and Valiant beat Mordred. During the next round Arthur was to run against the Sir Valiant, but there was supposedly a problem with his saddle. To keep things moving, the king "accidentally" threw a monkey wrench into the works and ordered Sir Gwaine to run against Sir Valiant. Merlin and Gwen enjoyed watching the actor playing Valiant get frustrated at this, because his plan was contingent on beating Arthur and the Black Knight beating Gwaine. Of course, he had to perform as the king commanded, so he tried but ended up losing to the charming knight.

Then it was Arthur's turn to face off against the Black Knight. Merlin knew it was all scripted and choreographed down to the smallest degree. But he knew there could always be mistakes. "I don't think I can watch," he muttered to Gwen.

"Shush. He'll be fine." Elyan gave them a quizzical look which they both ignored as the two men prepared to face off. The skill of the Black Knight proved more than the prince could handle and he found himself defeated by the mysterious knight. The final two jousters would be Sir Gwaine and the Black Knight.

Sir Gwaine's friends exchanged worried glances as the two took to the field. The princess held Lady Elena's hand and smiled as they prepared for their run. If Gwaine lost, then the Black Knight would be the one courting the king's ward. That wasn't the plan. Especially since the king would expect her to marry the victor even if she really wasn't that thrilled with him.

There would be three runs, like a normal joust. The first run went Sir Gwaine's way. The second went to the Black Knight. As they started down the field for their third run, Merlin smiled. He saw the Black Knight shift just that little bit that he would be out of place when Gwaine's lance hit his shield. The Black Knight went flying. Sir Gwaine was the winner! Lady Elena didn't bother to hide her glee as Sir Gwaine rode to the stand where the king's party was seated. She leaned over the rail and kissed him, right in front of the sputtering king.

The audience cheered as they watched the happy ending to the story of Sir Gwaine and Lady Elena, but the cheers stopped in shock as Sir Valiant suddenly charged from the viewing stand at Sir Gwaine. He would have caught the knight unawares if the Black Knight hadn't jumped in at the last second, his own sword unsheathed, and blocked the angry knight. The sword fight went on for a few minutes before the Black Knight defeated Sir Valiant, forcing him to the ground with a sword to his throat. His voice was slightly muffled as he turned to the king and asked him what he wanted done with the knave.

The king gestured for the other knights to come out and take Valiant into custody. "He'll be dealt with later. You have fought bravely, Sir Knight. You shall be honored for that. Take off your helm so We may see you."

The Black Knight hesitated until Sir Gwaine walked over to him and put his hand on the man's shoulder. "I already know who this is, Sire. He is the man who saved my life and I would put him forth as a candidate for true knighthood. I will even give up my purse to take care of his outfitting."

"Of course, Sir Gwaine. But surely such a strong and noble man is already a knight."

The Black Knight reached up and took off his helmet. There was a gasp from the nobles in the court and a loud whoop from the commoners. It was the common-born Captain of the Guard, Percival. Sir Gwaine grinned. "Thought so. You're the only one who's managed to figure out that sword twist I do. Not even these jokers can figure it out." Gwaine gestured toward the other knights standing off to the side, who just shrugged.

"Captain, what is the meaning of this?"

"I overheard Sir Valiant plotting and knew my word wouldn't be enough for you, so I made sure he wouldn't win, Your Majesty. I let it slip that there was a knight who would do whatever he was asked for money and just pretended to be that knight." The Captain stood proud and tall, even as he knew this might be the end of his career.

The king looked from the captain and knight standing before him to the rest of the audience, both part of the show and Faire attendees, "I think I shall let the people decide this." He addressed the audience, "I see two options before me: exile for impersonating a knight-" He paused as a low boo was heard from the crowd. "Or I could knight him for his gallantry." The cheer from the audience was deafening.

Merlin and Gwen were just as loud as everyone else, including Elyan, who knew what was coming. He stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly right in Merlin's ear. "Seriously?" Elyan just grinned at Merlin in response.

The king smiled up on the stands. "I believe the people have spoken, Captain. Approach." When Percival reached the stands, he had to ascend the steps to reach the king. The king waited patiently as the man nervously approached him. "Kneel." Percival did so and bowed his head, holding himself perfectly still as King Uther tapped each shoulder with his flat of his sword. "Arise, Sir Percival." As Percival stood up, the crowd cheered again, led by Sir Gwaine and Lady Elena. The other knights crowded him and slapped him on the back.

The final show of the scenario ended with a short parade out of the jousting area, which Merlin and his friends watched smiling. "Okay, that was fun. I'm so glad the Black Knight was Percival. Wait, Elyan, didn't you say you made a sword for him?"

Elyan dodged a woman and her child as they made their way out of the crowd. "Yeah, that's how I got into this, actually. Perce liked my work and recommended me to Jake when his old partner wanted to retire." He put his arm around Gwen's shoulders and pulled her out of the way of a small mob of teenagers who weren't looking where they were going. "Do you want to meet any of the actors? They'll be out of costume in a bit and wandering around. Morgana, Perce, and Gwaine, in particular, like the after-hours shows by Pirate's Cove. I usually end up hanging out with them if I'm not too tired. Morgana's a stitch."

Merlin and Gwen grinned at each other sheepishly as Elyan talked. Before they could answer, Gwen's cell phone rang. She quickly dug it out of the small reticule she'd been carrying around and glanced at the number on the screen. She sighed, "Just a minute, Elyan," as she walked a ways away to answer what must have been a call from Lance.

"What the hell?" Elyan turned toward Merlin. "That sounded like a crush. When did my little sister get a crush, Merlin?"

Merlin shrugged, petting Aithusa. It was all going to come out tonight anyway, but he wasn't about to throw his best friend under the bus. Not without having a sword and shield for his own protection anyway. After all, he had to live with her, sleep under the same roof as her, and eat her cooking.

"Merlin?" Elyan could be intimidating if he wanted to be, but not enough to counteract Merlin's very healthy fear of his best friend.

"Okay, so we're meeting them at The Greene Knight in about five minutes." Gwen grinned as she put the phone away. "Come on, Elyan. It's dinnertime."

"Meeting who? What? Who the hell are we meeting, Gwen? Gwen!" Elyan glowered helplessly at his sister as he followed her and Merlin while they ignored him.

Lance and Arthur were already sitting down at a table in the nicer restaurant on the fairgrounds. They were dressed in simple tunics and trousers that looked vaguely medieval, but were definitely not their costumes. They waved the three over to join them and Percival, who was dressed similarly. "Hey, Elyan," the tallest man greeted him as Arthur and Lance both stood up to greet their impromptu dates.

"Perce. Arthur, Lance." Elyan's eyes narrowed on Lance as the brunet pulled out a chair next to him for Gwen to sit in. Arthur didn't pull out the chair for Merlin, but he made sure the darker-haired man knew he was to sit next to him. "What the hell is going on?"

Gwen grinned up at her brother as he stood next to the table, arms crossed in front of him. "Merlin and I met Lance and Arthur during the day and they asked us to join them for dinner." Her voice was that strange cross between sweet and steely that had Merlin and her family jumping to obey her benevolent rule.

Elyan was a little put out that neither of them had warned him of this, so he stood firmer than he usually did when confronted with this side of Gwen. He glared straight at her for a moment before he uncrossed his arms to pull out his seat. He looked both Lance and Arthur directly in the eyes before he commented, "Remember, I don't just know how to use a shovel, I make them myself and can destroy the evidence."

Dinner was fun once Elyan relaxed enough to joke with the others. Their conversations flowed pretty easily as the two nascent couples tried to find out more about each other. Perce suggested that they meet the others at Pirate's Cove for some of the less child-friendly music and activities. Everyone readily agreed and they all left after paying for their meals, Gwen and Merlin insisting that neither of their "dates" be allowed to pay for them since it was so spontaneous a date.

The walk to the Pirate's Cove was filled with laughter as the actors were greeted by fairgoers who wanted to tell them how much they enjoyed the show. The three actors were gracious as they made their way to the beer tent, especially when a little girl stopped them and was then too shy to talk. Perce was the one she kept staring at.

"Are you really a knight now?" she asked him shyly when he knelt down to listen to her.

"I am. King Uther himself knighted me."

The little girl smiled. "I wanted you to win the whole time."

Perce grinned at her. "Thank you. I hope you weren't disappointed that I lost, though. Sir Gwaine and Lady Elena are really in love."

She shook her head. "No. It was a happy ending. I like them."

"So do I." The little girl's mother smiled as Perce spent the time with his littlest fan. "I'm glad you liked the show."

"I did. I want to help next year."

"Well, maybe next year, you guys can come to the children's weekend. That's the weekend we will definitely need your help."

The little girl grinned up at her mother, who simply answered, "We can see which weekend that is next year, sweetie." She picked her daughter up. "Now say goodbye to Sir Percival."

"Bye, Sir Percival. Bye, Sir Lancelot. Bye, Prince Arthur!"

The three men waved to the girl and chuckled once she was out of sight. "That never gets old," Perce said, shaking his head. He punched Arthur's arm, "And she liked me best, not you or Pretty Boy here."

"No accounting for a kid's taste, I guess."

Lance grunted as he held Gwen's hand, "He is the real hero of the story this year. I guess we'll allow it just this once. Next year I want to be the hero, though. We need to get together with 'Gana and have her write one in which we get the girls, or something."

Elyan snorted, "Arthur would rather get the guy."

"Well, that would be awfully progressive for a RenFaire." Gwen chuckled as she looked at Arthur and Merlin from the side of her eyes. "The prince could fall in love with his loyal wizard." Her laugh chimed through the air when she saw Merlin blush, his pale face going splotchy under his wide-brimmed wizard hat.

"You're a shitty best friend, you know that, right, Gwen?"

She leaned over and kissed his check, "Ridiculous. I'm the best of best friends."

Meeting the others in the cast was interesting. The actors were, for the most part, not a bit like their characters. Gwaine and Morgana, or 'Gana, as she preferred to be called, were a married couple and the writers of most of the scenarios. The actor who played Uther was, in reality, Gwaine's father. He and his wife had started the RenFaire twenty years before as a small festival to make a little extra money on some fallow land he owned that he couldn't farm, but it had grown into a permanent part of the farm and winery. His wife, Aggie, didn't act in the festival, but ran the business side of it, while John left it all in the hands of his son and daughter-in-law and just had fun playing the king on the weekends while he kept his fields and winery going otherwise.

Arthur, it turned out, was their nephew, and had helped with the Faire his entire life, bringing his friends into it when he started acting in his teens. His day job was being a drama and debate teacher in the local school district. Lance was another childhood friend of the younger generation of Pendragons. He was an engineer for one of the local production plants. Perce was a pediatrician, which explained his easy manner with the little girl they had encountered.

The actor playing Valiant was sitting with them, laughing. He was the biggest surprise of all. His real name was actually Val, but it was short for Valentine. "I'm not sure what would have been worse, the one I have or if I really was named Valiant. Thankfully, most people just assume my parents were fans of Val Kilmer." Val was a teacher at the same school as Arthur, but he taught remedial math.

Merlin enjoyed himself as he listened to their stories of some of the stranger things that had happened at the Faire. He relaxed into the seat with Arthur right next to him. He felt as if he and Gwen had fallen into an extended family.

Arthur nudged his shoulder, "Penny for your thoughts?"

Merlin smiled and shrugged. "You guys are so close. It's pretty wonderful."

"We've all been doing this a long time." Arthur looked at the others at the table, laughing at something Gwaine had just said while the band played risqué songs in the background. "Perce is the newest of this particular group and he just fell right into place, what, five years ago? Ellen is the newest of the core cast. She started this year." Arthur grinned. "For some reason, 'Gana said we had too much testosterone and needed to add more females to the storylines."

Merlin chuckled. "I can see that." Morgana and her husband sat close to each other, their thighs and shoulders brushing but she didn't seem like the type to let her husband get away with too many shenanigans. At least not without including her in the fun.

They talked quietly about how each of the storylines had been different the last ten years that Gwaine and Morgana had been writing them. Merlin, who pretended to adult by making a living as a retail drone while he attended college for art, made Arthur laugh with some of his stories about the store he worked for.

Without anyone realizing it, the evening passed until it was time for the Faire to close down for the night. The actors had to be up early and were groaning about how late they'd stayed. Merlin and Gwen were tired from walking around all day and wanted to get to their hotel and sleep. The two actors escorted them to the gates.

Arthur held Merlin back from Gwen and Lance with a gentle hand on his forearm, letting the other two walk forward a bit before he asked, "So, Merlin, if I ask you out on a real date, will you say 'yes'?"

Merlin nodded. "I think so. I mean, I have to come back here tomorrow and see if any of the other knights strike my fancy, but-"

"Merlin."

"Yes, Arthur"

"Shut up."

"Whatever you say, Sire."

* * *

 ***This is a Drabbit, from Imaginarium Galleries, found at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, which is what I've _very_ loosely based my RenFaire on since it's the one I try to go to every year.**

 **Merlin belongs to Shine and the BBC.**


End file.
